Turnovers Cost Boise State in Frustrating 87-83 Overtime Loss to New Mexico State in WAC Opener...New Mexico State rallied from eight points down with four minutes to play to defeat Boise State 87-83 in overtime during the Western Athletic Conference opener in Boise on Wednesday night in Taco bell Arena.

Harris scores 23 points to move into second place on Bronco career scoring list with 1,519.

BOISE, Idaho (1/6/2010) - New Mexico State rallied from eight points down with four minutes to play to defeat Boise State 87-83 in overtime during the Western Athletic Conference opener in Boise on Wednesday night in Taco bell Arena. Turnovers were key tonight in a tight game as the Broncos gave the ball away 24 times resulting in 31 Aggie points, including three crucial turnovers in the final NMSU run that forced overtime. Adding to the Broncos’ woes was Crystal Boyd who scored 19 second-half points to help the Aggies hand Boise State its first home loss of the season (7-1).

Leading Boise State was Tasha Harris who recorded her second consecutive double-double on 23 points and 10 rebounds. The senior’s 23 points moved her into second place on the Bronco career scoring list with 1,519, she needed four entering the game to reach the mark.

The contest was a series of runs with New Mexico State winning the battle with the final run of the game. The first half opened with Boise State breaking a 7-7 tie with a 8-1 run, powered by five Jessica Van Hoogen points, to take a 15-8 advantage five minutes into the first half. The Aggies responded with a 9-1 run over the next three minutes to take a 17-16 lead when Jasmine Lowe hit a mid-range jumper with 12:05 remaining in the period.

New Mexico State then stretched that run to 19-4, including a 12-0 stretch, recording a Aggie game-high eight-point lead, 27-19, with 9:05 showing on the clock.

Down eight, Van Hoogen and Harris combined for nine points of a 12-4 run that saw the Broncos race back to tie the score at 31 apiece with 3:29 left before the break. Heather Pilcher came into the game then proceeded to drive the key splitting two defenders for a layup that gave Boise State a 33-31 lead with two minutes to go.

New Mexico State’s Madison Spence then hit a jumper and one-of-two free throws to give the Aggies the lead at halftime 34-33.

The second half opened with Boise State’s Janie Bos hitting the opening shot, a layup, to give the Broncos a quick one-point, 35-34, lead 11 seconds into the final stanza. Boise State would not relinquish the lead again until the overtime period.

The Broncos opened the second half with a 14-5 run that saw them take an eight-point, 47-39, lead six minutes into the period. Boise State’s largest lead was nine points which it had three times in the next five minutes with the last coming at the 8:44 mark and the score showing 56-47.

New Mexico State made another mini run that saw the Aggies cut the lead to four points twice with just over five minutes to play in regulation. Up four, Boise State responded stretching its advantage back out to eight points with 3:55 left.

Over the next four minutes New Mexico State rolled off a 10-2 run which included scoring seven points off three Boise State turnovers to close the period. The Aggies Lowe and Boyd each recorded five points in the final run to force the decisive overtime period with the score tied at 70.

In overtime Boise State struck first on a Julia Marshall jumper for a 72-70 Bronco advantage. Boise State’s last lead was at 75-73 with 3:47 left in the extra period.

NMSU tied the score at 75 with 2:37 left in OT on a Christina Fletcher jumper. With 1:06 remaining the Aggies had just finished a 6-0 run to claim a four-point lead at 79-75.

Boise State cut the lead to two points twice with 50 seconds (79-77) and 22 seconds (81-79) left. But New Mexico State hit six-of-six free throws in the final 19 seconds to ice the game to claim its first ever victory over Boise State in Boise in nine tries.

Turnovers crushed Boise State as they turned it over 24 times compared to 15 for New Mexico State which resulted in a 31-10 advantage for the Aggies in points off turnovers. The Broncos also lost the battle in the paint by a 40 to 30 point margin, Boise State is 10-0 when out scoring their opponents in the paint and 1-4 when they do not. NMSU also held a 17-2 advantage in fast break points, most coming off Bronco turnovers.

On the night Boise State shot the ball well hitting 44.9 percent (31-69) from the floor, 45 percent (9-20) from beyond the arc and 75 percent (12-16) from the free-throw line. Unfortunately, NMSU shot the ball well also converting 47.8 percent (33-69) from the floor, 40 percent (8-20) from the arc and 68.4 percent (13-19) from the charity stripe.

Boise State had four players in double-digit points led by Harris with 23 to go with team-highs for rebounds and assists with 10 and four respectively. Van Hoogen followed with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists, one block and a team-high four steals, while Melissa Rima recorded a career-tying 12 points, including a career-high three treys (3-3), to go with seven boards and one block. Janie Bos finished with 11 points, three rebounds and two assists. Freshman Lauren Lenhardt recorded a career-high four blocks to go with five points and six rebounds.

New Mexico State had three players in double-figure scoring led by Jasmine Lowe’s 26 points, five rebounds, three assists and four steals. Boyd added 23 points followed by Danisha Corbett with 11 points and five boards.

The loss drops Boise State to 11-4 on the year and 0-1 in WAC play. NMSU moves to 11-4 overall and 1-0 in league. Next up, Boise State travels to Reno, Nev., for a Saturday encounter with the Nevada Wolf Pack, tip is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (Mountain).